Food Psych Podcast with Christy Harrison #337: Why Ozempic Isn't a Miracle Weight-Loss Drug with Amanda Martinez Beck
Jul 24, 2025
In this discussion, Amanda Martinez Beck, a fat-acceptance activist and author, shares her journey with Ozempic for diabetes and its impact on her body image. She reflects on her early dieting experiences and how chronic conditions influence her relationship with food. Insights include how diet culture operates like a religion, the complexities of using Ozempic, and the challenges of navigating eating disorders while seeking fat liberation. Amanda also speaks about reframing religious views on gluttony and the guilt tied to weight loss.
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Early Dieting Sparked Long-Term Harm
- Amanda Martinez Beck describes being put on restrictive diets from age seven and dreaming she was begging for food at age ten.
- She links early dieting to long-term disordered eating and a crisis during a 40-day fast in her twenties.
Body Purpose Beyond Thinness
- Amanda reframes fat as a neutral descriptor and defines the body's purpose as relationship rather than thinness or perfection.
- This shift supported self-worth independent of body size and challenged cultural assumptions about value.
A Communal Reframe Of Gluttony
- Amanda reframes gluttony from a moralized overeating idea to a communal ethic about harming your neighbor.
- She uses this to justify food freedom when considering neighbor care, like sharing cake fairly with siblings.
